The long playoff streaks for Hendrick Motorsports drivers have been broken. Chase Elliott has qualified every single year since 2016, and Alex Bowman since 2018. Nevertheless, the winless record at Daytona remains unbroken for any of the four Hendrick Motorsports teammates as they failed to win a race again.

Due to injuries, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman missed some crucial races. Missing four to six out of the 26 regular season races can have a significant impact on any driver’s performance. This impact was clearly visible on both the #9 and #48 cars. Despite their playoff hopes being in jeopardy, the season is far from over. One of the two disappointed drivers, Alex Bowman, shed light on his strategy and the team’s plans to recover from the damage over the remaining 10 races.

Hendrick Motorsports star bears the weight upon his own shoulders

Approaching Daytona with a fresh mindset and a must-win situation, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott felt the weight of playoff pressure on them, which was particularly evident among the HMS stars. Notably, neither of the two drivers was able to consistently perform after their comebacks from injury, likely due to the mounting pressure placed upon them.

With Alex Bowman sitting in 20th place in the championship standings, trailing the playoff cutoff by 96 points, his performance during the final showdown was critical. Ultimately, he managed to secure a sixth-place finish, narrowly surviving a wreck at the end of stage 1 with minimal damage.

In an interview with Formtstretch, Bowman was asked about his strategy for the upcoming 10 races, as the pressure of the playoffs would no longer be a factor for HMS Star after this race.

Alex Bowman replied, “We just need to go and execute like we‘re in them anywhere and you know this season everything that happened to be in the talks for the play-offs is probably more than we could have had you know at times so missed a lot of races and you just can’t have that so that’s my fault and we will keep digging”

Sadly, his championship hopes and his five-year playoff streak were both shattered by missing the playoffs, thanks to his injury and the ups and downs he experienced throughout the season.

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Struggles, Setbacks, and Determination of Alex Bowman

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Alex Bowman stood out as the sole driver in the initial month with the most top-10 finishes, amassing a number of points in his tally. However, the downfall following an inspection failure at Richmond cost them 60 regular season points and five playoff points due to modifications in the car’s greenhouse area. This penalty resulted in a significant drop in Bowman’s position in the standings.

Moving into April, during a Sprint race, Bowman endured a vertebra fracture due to an accident. This unfortunate event forced him to miss three crucial Cup races and the All-Star race. Upon his return to the #48 Camaro, Bowman found himself in 17th place in the standings, with just a handful of points below the elimination line.

Subsequently, Alex Bowman struggled to maintain top 10 positions, except for a commendable 5th place at the Indianapolis Road Course and a 6th place finish at Daytona. In short, the hopes of making it to the playoffs were dashed for the Arizona native. Nonetheless, the team still has 10 races to mend the damage. What are your thoughts on this situation?

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